The association of adenosine deaminase with coronary artery disease: Effect of gender and diabetes

Abstract

An association between ADA1 and Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) has been observed in Polish and in Italian\rpopulations but in Italian population the association was present in males\ronly. In order to enlighten these differences we have carried out a\rcollaborative study in the two populations. In Italy 215 subjects admitted to\rthe Hospital for CAD, 275 subjects with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) without CAD and\r398 healthy new-borns were studied. In Poland 173 subjects with CAD and 200\rhealthy newborns were studied. Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects\ror from their mothers to participate to the study that was approved by the\rI.R.B. ADA1 polymorphism was determined by DNA analysis. Three way\rcontingency table analysis was performed by a log linear model. The association\rbetween CAD and ADA1 is present in non diabetic male subjects\ronly: OR = 0.195, p = 0.007 in the Italian population and OR = 0.163, p = 0.004\rin the Polish population. The data suggest a significant role of\rimmunological mechanisms in the pathogenesis of CAD without diabetes. Gender\rdifferences in immune diseases could explain the lack of association in\rfemales.